Medal of Honor Recipient Articles

Medal of Honor: Michael A. Donaldson, World War I, October 14, 1918

When his regiment fell back under a storm of German fire, Sergeant Michael Donaldson refused to retreat—he went forward, again and again, to carry the wounded home.

MOH

Medal of Honor: Arlo L. Olson, World War II, October 13–27, 1943

Chest-deep in the icy Volturno River, Captain Arlo Olson waded through machine-gun fire to lead his men into battle—one of the 3rd Infantry Division’s boldest combat leaders, whose courage burned until his final breath.

MOH

Medal of Honor: James Montross Burt, World War II, October 13–21, 1944

Amid the smoke and rubble of Wurselen, Captain James M. Burt led from the front—bleeding, exposed, and unyielding—his calm courage holding a fractured battle line together for eight relentless days.

MOH

Medal of Honor: William Thomas Perkins Jr., Vietnam War, October 12, 1967

He carried a camera, not a rifle—but when the grenade landed among his fellow Marines, Corporal William T. Perkins Jr. didn’t hesitate to trade his life for theirs.

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Medal of Honor: Ernest E. West, Korean War, October 12, 1952

Blinded in one eye and bleeding from his wounds, he refused to stop—dragging his commander and two fellow soldiers from a Korean hillside under a storm of enemy fire.

MOH

Medal of Honor: Samuel S. Coursen, Korean War, October 12, 1950

He charged into an enemy bunker with nothing but courage — and when the smoke cleared, seven enemy lay dead, and one wounded American lived because of him.

MOH

Medal of Honor: Norman Scott, World War II, October 11–12 and November 12–13, 1942

When the dark waters off Guadalcanal erupted in fire, Rear Admiral Norman Scott steered straight into the storm — outgunned, outnumbered, and utterly unafraid.